Man Weeps In Relief As Jury Acquits Him In Slaying Of Couple

February 14, 1986|By Rich Pollack, Staff Writer

Leroney Hills, who for the last three years faced two first-degree murder charges and the possibility of execution, wept in relief Thursday when a Palm Beach County Circuit court acquitted him of killing a couple eight years ago.

Hills, 33, had shown little emotion during his two-week trial but as the verdict was read, he buried his face in his hands, then wiped his eyes.

``He just started crying,`` said his attorney, Bert Winkler, who also wiped his eyes. ``He takes things in stride very well and he has shown very little emotion. Then he just broke down.``

As jurors filed out of the courtroom, two stopped by the defense table to congratulate Hills and shake his hand.

Jurors later said that the decision to find Hills innocent was not a difficult one.

``It was cut and dry,`` said one juror. ``There wasn`t enough evidence.``

Hills had been charged with the West Palm Beach murders of Randolph and Sandra Davis, who prosecutors said were killed during a drug buy in their home that turned into a robbery.

Randy Davis was found beaten to death, apparently with a board and a concrete block. Sandy Davis, whose hands had been tied behind her back with a jump rope, was stabbed and struck over the head with two statues, according to detectives.

Throughout the trial, prosecutor Gay Broome had contended that it was Hills and another Fort Pierce man, James Sumpter, who drove to the Davis home in June 1978 and murdered the couple. Sumpter is still being sought.

Much of the prosecution`s case was built around a key witness, Michael Sams, who testified that he had gone with Hills and Sumpter on the day of the slaying but was let out of the car before they reached the Davis home.

Sams, who said he stood on a street corner for about 25 minutes, testified that he overheard Sumpter and Hills talking about the murder as they drove back to Fort Pierce.

``That conversation has the underlying ring of truth to it,`` Broome told jurors during her closing arguments Thursday.

But Winkler, in his arguments, continued to poke holes in Sams` testimony.

``There is no ring of truth to this ridiculous story of him being let out on a street corner with a dollar,`` Winkler said. ``It is a story that a man made up when he was cornered by police.``

Winkler told jurors that it was Sams, not Hills, who had accompanied Sumpter to the Davis home on the day of the slaying.

Despite the acquittal, Hills remained in custody because of an unrelated charge for which he is currently serving time, Winkler said.